Emblazoned Upon Her
by peridotpearl
Summary: One shot, no clear TxT or RxT. One night at a bar brings so many hidden feelings to the surface...


Emblazoned Upon Her  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own Hana Yori Dango. I just wish I did.  
  
Author's Notes: A one-shot I'm doing just to get my mind off By the Winds of Chance. That one's getting way too hard to continue, so I'm writing this one to relieve the pressure of ideas building up. I might continue this one if I feel like it.  
  
*This is supposed to be a weird story with no plot and a hidden bit of irony. Not too much, but a little. Can you find it?  
  
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He stalked over to the table and sat down. "She's not coming tonight." Tsukasa growled.  
  
"Why not?" Akira asked, his voice slurred. He took another gulp from a bottle on the table. "Why is she hiding from us?"  
  
"Ooh...maybe she's scared we won't like what she's got." Soujiro murmured, blurring the words together so it sounded more like "Ooh, mabeshezskaurewedunlikwhashigot."  
  
Tsukasa stood up angrily, overturning the table. The glasses on top fell and shattered upon the floor.  
  
"Look! The big man is mad!" Akira giggled madly, his hair obscuring his face as he bent over in laughter.  
  
"You bastards! You're drunk again! Last time you got drunk and wrecked that bar, I had to pay for it because you two had fainted! I'm not going to try and explain what happened to another confused taxi driver. I came here because you guys said we were going to have 'fun'. I'm not here to see you two make fools out of yourselves!" He raged. His face turned an interesting shade of purplish-red and his hair stood up crazily.  
  
"I go home with you, Aki. Big man no like us no more." Soujiro stood up unsteadily and grabbed Akira's hair, towing him to the door.  
  
Akira stumbled and flailed his arms crazily, thwacking people on the dance floor. Mistakenly, he hit several girls' behinds and they turned and swung their purses at his head. "Ouch!"  
  
Tsukasa watched them leave, still fuming. Then he sat back down.  
  
"They're not getting home. We'll have to look for them again tomorrow." Rui finally spoke from the shadows, where he'd been lounging quietly.  
  
"I know, but I don't care. They know I hate it when they get drunk! They make F4 look like some stupid gang with no pride!" He spat vehemently, anger clouding his face.  
  
"I know he was intoxicated when he asked it, but you never answered Akira's question as to why Tsukushi couldn't come tonight."  
  
Tsukasa froze. "I don't know why. I think she has to work or something." He answered casually.  
  
"No, she's not. I called her earlier to ask her if she was planning on doing anything tonight. She said she wasn't." Rui's voice was quiet and dangerous.  
  
Tsukasa waved someone over. "Two martinis." He leaned forward. "I don't have to tell you anything, Rui. You don't need to know what goes on in her life."  
  
Rui was silent for a moment. "You're doing it again, aren't you? You've locked her up somewhere again. You're hiding her from us. Tsukasa, F4, we're your friends; none of us is going to take her away from you! We already know how much you love each other. We're not going to do anything to ruin that!"  
  
Tsukasa stood up, furious. "How can I be sure of that? You have no idea what it's like to see the person you love kissing one of your best friends! You've never experienced that. Don't judge me like that when you have no idea how I feel!" He swallowed a large mouthful of beer, wincing at the unfamiliar taste.  
  
Rui rose from his seat. His voice was cold and bitter. "I do know how you feel, Tsukasa. How do you think I stand it when you and Tsukushi are together? I let go of her so she could be free of my love, so she could choose for herself who she wanted. She chose you, Tsukasa, and now you're killing her!"  
  
Tsukasa took a swallow from one of the martini glasses. "I'm not killing her! I'm protecting her from the outside world. Did you even listen to a bit of what Akira and Soujiro said? I'm trying to save her from people like them! She can't deal with that, Rui! I have to do it for her!"  
  
"Tsukasa! She doesn't need that! You know the only thing that she can't handle? She can't take it when you get all overprotective on her! That's the only time she's ever come to me! Have you ever thought about it? She only cries after you attempt to 'save' her. It's not helping her; it's hurting her!"  
  
Tsukasa gulped the rest of the martini. " I would never hurt her, Rui. I don't want to see her cry ever again! It's never my fault when she's upset. It's always because someone did something to her that she couldn't handle! It's always been when she's pushed away my protection, then gotten hurt! You can't blame me for wanting to shield her from that!"  
  
Rui shook his head. "I'm not saying you shouldn't be trying to guard her, but you're going way too far! You can't lock her up and force her to stay home just because you're scared of losing her to some random guy she meets in a bar! She wouldn't do that to you, Tsukasa! She knows what it's like to be hurt and knows how much pain you feel. She's loves you, Tsukasa. Don't break that devotion like you've broken her spirit!  
  
Tsukasa slammed the shots of vodka onto the table. "I have not broken her spirit! She is happy with me! You can't deny it, Rui. I know you're jealous of my relationship with her, but you can't lie like that!"  
  
Rui screamed angrily. "I haven't seen her truly happy since you started acting like this, Tsukasa! You're the one that caused this, and you owe it to her to fix it again! She is relying on you to make her happy. If you can't do it, maybe she's not meant to be with you!"  
  
Tsukasa froze. "She is meant to be with me, Rui. She will never leave me. If I can't meet her wishes, then no one can! I know what she needs, and you can't give it to her!"  
  
"Maybe I can't, but I know she won't find it with you! You don't even care how she feels, as long as she's by your side!  
  
"I REGRET LETTING HER EVER CHOOSE WHO SHE WANTED TO LOVE! I should have known better! I've seen you all of your life, Tsukasa, and you've always been like this! She never saw that side of you before she chose you and I let her go without showing her first!"  
  
Glass flew everywhere as Tsukasa brought a down to the table. "I do listen to how she feels! She loves me, not you! She never cared for you; she only pitied you because you seemed so lonely to her, like a little child. She never loved you, Rui!"  
  
A chill raced up Rui's spine. Tsukasa's words buried themselves deep inside his heart. "It doesn't matter anymore. Even though she doesn't love me, I'll always be there for her. She knows that. And although she can't return my feelings, she knows she can always trust me."  
  
Tsukasa brought back his arm, ready to strike Rui. Fury was etched in his face as he clenched his other fist.  
  
"Have faith in your love for each other."  
  
Tsukasa swayed suddenly and threw up at Rui's feet. Collapsing on the cold floor, he leaned against one of the legs of the chair. He buried his face in his arms and sobbed uncontrollably. His harsh cries echoed throughout the room, an eerie ring to them.  
  
Rui laid a gentle hand on Tsukasa's shaking shoulder. He crouched down beside Tsukasa, then slowly sat down next to him. He rubbed Tsukasa's back in small circles, pain coursing through both of them. He rested his head against a different chair and closed his eyes, the steady beat of the music covering the new wound Tsukasa had opened. A single tear coursed down Rui's cheek.  
  
"You chose the right person, Tsukushi." 


End file.
